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Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Westfield W-League Round 8 review

So now just two regular-round games to go and things are getting interesting. Mainly as Canberra United have made the top-four for the first-time this season and are now in the box-set to make it. Canberra, Melbourne or Perth now can't afford to drop a game if they want to keep their chances alive, which is going to make for some blockbusters next week. But before then, let's see just what set-up this three-into-one doesn't go finals conundrum.

CANBERRA UNITED 3 (Cian MACIEJEWSKI 9’, TSENG Shu O 74’, Kahlia HOGG 76’) bt NEWCASTLE JETS 1 (Amber NEILSON 53’ (pen)) at EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle.
So Canberra's late run of season form continues, and sets-up a very familar-looking clash in Round 9, but before we get to that - it almost didn't happen. First of all on Sunday, it was crazy conditions in Newcastle. The temperature was 42-degrees on the ground and it was a humid, terrible heat that was energy-zapping. I have no idea how those girls made it through the match without fainting, and they certainly deserve a round of applause for just getting through that game. But at the end of the day, Canberra dominated the chances and deserved to win. After scoring in just the 9th minute, from an Ellyse Perry free kick that almost curled by itself until Cian Maciejewski made sure of it with her head, Canberra should have gone into half-time 3-0 up but didn't. That allowed Newcastle back into the game and then took their chance when awarded a penalty. Really shouldn't have been a penalty, but anyway. Amber Neilson took it beautifully. It then looked like Canberra were going to throw-away a golden chance to control their own finals destiny as scores were locked at 1-1 for 20minutes, before some individual brilliance from Tseng Shu O and Kahlia Hogg took the score to 3-1, in the 74th and 76th minute. But special mention to Ashleigh Sykes, who set-up both Tseng's and Hogg's goals beautifully. Newcastle showed some great passages of play in stages, but on the whole just weren't consistent enough. A tough game to judge though on the heat, it really was crazy!
MATCH DETAILS
Referee: Peta McCallum
Assistant referees: Penelope Nash and Catherine Nash
Fourth official: Tanya De Boer
Newcastle Jets line-up: 1. Alison LOGUE (gk), 3. Pelay INGLES, 6. Amber NEILSON (c), 7. Gema SIMON, 8. Bronte BATES, 13. Caitlin JARVIE (9. Kate HENSMAN 64’), 15. Renee CARTWRIGHT, 16. Kirstyn PEARCE, 17. Madeline SEARL (11. Carlie IKONOMOU 59’), 18. Leia SMITH, 19. Tara ANDREWS (12. Emma STEWART 83’)
Substitutes Not Used: 20. Emma-Kate DEWHURST (gk)
Yellow Cards: Pelay INGLES 87’
Red Cards: Nil
Canberra United line-up: 1. Lydia WILLIAMS, 3. Bronwyn STUDMAN, 5. Kahlia HOGG, 7. Ellie BRUSH (c), 8. Emily VAN EGMOND (12. Snez VELJANOVSKA 76’), 10. TSENG Shu O, 11. Cian MACIEJEWSKI, 14. Ashleigh SYKES, 15. Nicole SYKES (2. Rebecca KITING 57’), 16. Ellyse PERRY, 19. Jen BISSET (9. Grace GILL 49’)
Substitutes Not Used: 20. Jocelyn MARA
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil